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Topic: FanFiction contest! (Read 35941 times)

we've started discussing it in another forum............there will be a fanfic contest at this year's kumoricon. watch this space for details, suggestions, offers for beta reading, and zeal to compete! we'll need writers, betas, judges, suggestions for content and process limitations, suggestions for prizes, etc.

looking forward to it! it was definitely a highlight of my year, last year.

I've been writing fanfiction since 1998, and offer my services as a fanfic beta reader. (You know, I help with grammer and spelling.) And, if needed, I will judge fanfiction, but my specialty is Drama/Angst/Tradgedy, and I don't really get along with other catagories. ^.^;

Kaiyo No Hime @fanfiction.net if anyone wants to read any of my old stuff. ^.^

Like I said, I'll beta if you need it. In all modesty, I'm an excellent speller (I rarely need spellcheck, though I still run it just in case of typos) and I had grammar malleted into me by my ninth-grade English teacher and never forgot it. I got an 800 on the verbal half of my SAT, if that helps indicate the level of my spelling/grammar-obsessive skillz. ^_~*

first of all, wow! how thrilling to have so many replies, and especially to meet new folks in this manner, and have them be meeting each other in this manner! way cool!

as for a separate beta thread...hm, i haven't been around the forums enough to know if there already is one, or where to put it. hm.

i suppose we who are going to be involved in the workshop and/or the panel need to hobknob over the extent to which those of us who are going to be judges, must refrain from beta'ing. for example: could a judge beta other pieces for a contestant, as long as the piece being judged was not beta'd by the judge? i would hope so, because i wouldn't want past history of a beta relationship to automatically rule someone out from entering.

i would like to have a special category for first-time contestants. for this category, i would like to accept fics of any type, so long as it was the very first time that the author was entering any kind of contest or having anyone other than their friends read their fics.

does that make sense as a category? kind of "best newbie"?

would there be interest in this category?

are any of you competing in the contest at the otakucon tomorrow?

keep an eye out for me. i haven't decided what i'm wearing yet, but i'm leaning towards my gothic lolita style dress (it's a long tight black satiny dress with a lot of white crinoline)

kumoricon programming staff are having a meeting, this wednesday, at 5:30 pm. by that time, i need to have a sense of when those interested in the fanfic panel and workshop would like those to be held: which day, which time, which size room, for how long.

this is my gut level feeling; i'm hoping for everyone's input.

i would aim for something like:

medium-sized room, away from really loud stuff. last year, i couldn't hear some participants in the back, from the speakers' table, over the ruckus from the gaming room next door, even with our door closed! i'm going to put in a request to evade such this year.

same room for workshop and for contest results, if possible, to make it easier for folks to remember and find us.

24 hours between start of workshop and presentation of contest results, if possible. continuity of time would also help memory and turn out. i.e., if the workshop were at 11 am on sunday, the results would be at 11 am on monday.

5 to 10 hours between the end of the workshop, and the cut off time for submissions for the contest. example: workshop 11 am to 1pm; entries accepted until 6, or until 11pm.

my thoughts are that: (a) we want to be sure judges have enough time to seriously review all entries, and to compare notes with each other; (b) we want to be sure that there is enough time after the workshop, for anyone who is inspired, by the workshop, to join the contest, to do so...to whip up something quick and/or get online (will there be access at the marriot, like there was at the clarion? i hope so!) and print something they'd posted for friends, themselves, or a website....(c) i personally think it would be more exciting for the awards to be given right there at the con, than to have to find out later, online, who won...i think that if the awards are given ceremoniously, it aids in eliciting turnout and drumming up enthusiasm (plus is logistically easier).

i think it would be fun to have a little judge-a-thon in one of the con central rooms or something...and if it is like last year, some entries will trickle in in the days before the con, so it won't be like we'll have to crunch on every entry right there on site.

anyway, what do others think? i will copy and paste this into the fanfic workshop section, as well.

just got back a little while ago, from otakucon. still in my integra hellsing cosplay (won 2nd place )

met a few teens who would like to submit fics, but who are not sure their parents will let them travel to portland, and if they can, probably only for a day trip.

i'm wondering what the norm is, and what folks would feel: personally, i do not think folks should have to be present, to win. by extension, could folks enter who are not able to attend the con?

on the one hand, i'd like to have as many folks participate as others. on the other hand, i suppose the existence of a contest, in which people did have to attend the con to participate, might serve to lure some folks to the con?

how is judging going to take place? will it be blind (i.e. the name of the author is removed or covered on the piece)?

I would think people should have to be present, but then, people may be sending in artwork for the artshow that are not there. So it would be entirely up to the panel.

I would think it would also be cool, if the submissions were few enough, that having the authors read eachother's works and vote on them would be a cool way to do it. But that would no doubt require a lot more time than people are willing to spend on one event.

Just a thought.

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-StazeFounding Member, Altonimbus Entertainment"You mean, you'll put down your rock and I'll put down my sword, and we'll try and kill each other like civilized people?"

those are very good questions. i love every way i've seen you participate in the con, meetings, and forums, staze.

truth be told, i had not made the assumption that the panelists would be judges. last year, for example, the panel consisted of amy, me, and katie, but the judging was done only by amy and me. this year, among those on the panel are 3 of last year's contestants. i did not make the assumption that they would prefer to be judges, rather than to again be contestants.

i suppose that if those who were panelists were also contestants, that would be a logical situation in which reading "blind" would be advisable. i'm working with the assumption that i and amy will be primary judges, and anyone else she and i invite. (i'm hoping she joins this forum soon; have you contacted her?) since amy and i have already read works by our panelists, and especially as i've since betad extensively for one of them (*smiles at aj's win at sakuracon and feels proud to have been thanked as beta*), i would imagine that we might be able to discern whose pieces were by those with whose writing styles we've become familiar. thus i don't know how "blind" we could be in reading them. i also don't know if that's desirable or not. i'll have to consult amy, and also those who were contestants last year.

blackjack? aj? hayley? had you thought of whether or not you would want to be judges? how many judges do you think the contest should have? i had thought that it would be logical to keep it to just a few, for simplicity's sake and because of how labor-intensive it is.

i would think if the art contest allows off-site entries, it would be logical to match that in the fic contest.

i'm most excited about the category encouraging newbies/first time contestants. the zeal that emerges when someone first realizes others *want* to see/read their work, is adorable and contagious.

lol, no, I don't think so. I'm going to be fairly busy during the con, and I'm not sure I'd have time to sit down and read fanfic while people are all wanting something over com.

Thanks for the offer though. ;-P I'm just thinking about things from a logical stand point... if the judges know people that are entering, it could be thought that the judging is bias if those judges are rating their friend's work. Though, I would think an odd number of judgets would be the best way to do things in order to avoid a tie. If an even number is unavoidable, and time permitting, I could lend a hand incase of a tie. But, I would suggest an odd number of judges (it's just cleaner).

If only our supreme court was logical enough to realize these things.

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-StazeFounding Member, Altonimbus Entertainment"You mean, you'll put down your rock and I'll put down my sword, and we'll try and kill each other like civilized people?"

well there's something to be said for the fact that our judges (at least us co-chairs) were democratically elected, rather than appointed by leaders who at least in the most recent case, had their brother's help to steal an election......but i digress.

i agree there might be times tie-breakers are needed. i also was hoping that those interested in fanfic would come to a consensus about the relationship between betaing and judging. for example: i love to beta for filkaeris. she's been my favorite for whom to beta, of late, and our collaboration has been fruitful. i would not want it to be the case that because i, as one of the judges, had betad for her other pieces, that she could not submit a new piece i had not yet seen, for the contest. however, if there were enough judges, and if everyone agreed on a process, i might recuse myself from judging her particular piece.

the lovely and exquisitely talented filkaeris of our kumoricon_fanfiction yahoo group has proposed an addition to fanfic programming, which carries my wholehearted endorsement. she's calling it the "fanfic cafe". the basic gist is that it will be an open mic for authors to read their own fics. my aspiration is that eventually, if not for this con then for next year's, we could have it be that in the cafe, folks cosplay their own fics.

we're currently trying to decide whether to have the cafe be its own event, or to merge it with the beta station, or to merge it with the fanfic workshop, perhaps expanding the workshop from 2 hours to 3, then splitting it down the middle: 1 1/2 hrs. panel, 1 1/2 hrs. reading.

another possibility would be to merge it with the contest: perhaps there could be a special award for the person who does the most animated presentation of their fic?

well, being a panelist is more than enough responsibility for one con! but, i was also hoping you would agree to read something at the cafe...either your entry from last year's contest, or anything else of your choosing. or both!

there is nothing wrong with having this as a new topic! i will reply in both threads, to maximize others reading it.

thank you for your interest in the contest!

i was a judge last year, as well, and it was a ton of fun.

the pieces varied dramatically in length, but were judged together. i suppose, hypothetically, that if some submitted pieces that were only about a page in length, and others an entire chapter, that we might create special categories by length. but in the absence of such extremes, there would be, imho, no piece that was too long nor too short for us to include.

absolutely, collaborative pieces will be accepted. what a wondeful opportunity for friends to converge their creative visions

at least last year, the prizes were not pre-set, but were tailored to the winners' personal preferences. as i expect to personally fund whatever gifts we don't get donated, i can personally commit that it would be fine if a winning piece had multiple authors.

in fact, given that my primary affiliation with anime is as a beta reader, i would love it if folks also submitted the name of their beta for recognition, and would love to give a little prize to the winner's beta, as well

there are no criteria for presentation. i would be delighted with handwritten notebook paper if that's what best captured your creative essence.

the presentation may be as formal or informal as you wish. however, it should include disclaimers (about what characters/worlds you did not innovate, and who did innovate them). background info is welcome; contextualizing is helpful. but there is no set format for providing it.

as for the number of submissions: that has not yet been discussed. personally, my preference would be that, once we identify to everyone what the actual, final categories are, that there not be more than 2 submissions per category per person.

i happen to believe that cross-overs can be well-executed. therefore i have zero interest in banning stories from having characters and universe elements from multiple shows. however, do remember to include all of them in your disclaimer and background info, and bear in mind that not all judges might look as favorably on alternate universes and cross-overs.

from the insightfulness of your queries, i'm really looking forward to reading anything you submit!

Thank you very much, Rem! That helped a lot, now I know exactually how to present my fanfiction. Are there catorgories already choosen? Under the contest link there isnt any thing about fanfiction, but in another forum someone was talking about possibilities for catergories, something like drama/actin/comedy/romance/ect. is this what it is going to be like? Or something different? That way I can start working on my two subbmissions for each catorgory that I like to write for.

I like the idea of what I mentioned before, where there is a catergory for each romance, comedy, action, drama, horror, ect. but there arises the problem of having people with fanfics that include combinations. So either you would have to have other catergories, have a catergory for fanfics with combinations, or be strict and say you have to enter them in the catorgory that best fits their piece. Also having a limit on how many fanfics you can submit per catorgory is a good idea because then you wont three hundred in comedy and one in horror, even though you have prizes for all catergories. I really like the idea of having a newbie catergory also. I have never had anyone but my friends read my fanfics before, so with a newbie catergory I wouldn't be facing the big-time fan writers that really know what they are doing. But then would you have the same catergories in newbie as you would for experienced writers?Thats what I think, but I can work with almost any thing, besides this should be convient-est for the ones having to read them all in two days. Bunny_Mae

I like the idea of what I mentioned before, where there is a catergory for each romance, comedy, action, drama, horror, ect. but there arises the problem of having people with fanfics that include combinations. So either you would have to have other catergories, have a catergory for fanfics with combinations, or be strict and say you have to enter them in the catorgory that best fits their piece.

***actually. bunny mae, i would even be open to someone who wanted to have her or his piece considered in more than one category. but you certainly make a good point! i'm open to having a genre-jumping category

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Also having a limit on how many fanfics you can submit per catorgory is a good idea because then you wont three hundred in comedy and one in horror, even though you have prizes for all catergories.

***are you suggesting that we cap the number each person can submit per category? or the total number we would review in each category over all? i could agree to the former, but not the latter. the more the merrier!

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I really like the idea of having a newbie catergory also. I have never had anyone but my friends read my fanfics before, so with a newbie catergory I wouldn't be facing the big-time fan writers that really know what they are doing. But then would you have the same catergories in newbie as you would for experienced writers?

***the newbie category is the one about which i'm most excited only if we had enough submissions in it to delineate by cartegory, however, would i choose to do so. i promise to err on the side of giving out too many prizes rather than too few

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Thats what I think, but I can work with almost any thing, besides this should be convient-est for the ones having to read them all in two days. Bunny_Mae

***well, though i'm definitely up for a marathon review session, and though we will definitely be accepting pieces up through probably an hour or two after the fanfic workshop, which i'm anticipating will be early on sunday afternoon, people are welcome to and encouraged to submit their fics as early as they wish. in fact, one awaits me in my email box already!

Rem, I would never suggest that there be a limit to an actual category, that would mean telling some people that, sorry we have to many fics, it would just be silly. But limiting each person to how many they can have in each category would make each category have a restrainment to how many are in it. For example, if people could only have two entrys per catergory, and only fifty people submited fics (pretend that they all submit two in each catergory) you would only have one hundred fics to read in each catergory. So by limiting each person, you are, in a way, limiting each catergory. But I think that works out well, and not everyone will submit the same amount of fics in each catergory.

Do you know which day and at what time they are going to do the reading of fanfics? I wouldn't personally read mine (resulting froma mix of stage fright and a curse of shyness) but I would love to submit one of mine for someone else to read, and I really want to listen to others storys. Will we be submitting the storys to be read at the same table that we will submit our fanfics to be judged? And should we submit two copies if we are entering our piece and having it read? Thanks.

it's just that, speaking realistically, there might not be that many contestants, so i'm not that worried about limiting anything.

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Do you know which day and at what time they are going to do the reading of fanfics?

our goal for this was saturday night. however, nothing is currently formalized, because at the programming meeting i most recently attended, i was informed that the smaller programming activities would not be given their room and time assignments until just a few days before the con, because we needed to leave room for contingencies in case we were able to get any big name industry guests, and to save room for the activities that are bigger draws, such as cosplay, karaoke and amv's.

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I wouldn't personally read mine (resulting froma mix of stage fright and a curse of shyness) but I would love to submit one of mine for someone else to read, and I really want to listen to others storys.

it was exactly for enthusiastic authors like you that we were going to line up readers for hire....volunteers, including myself, will be able to read others' fics of course, this will also benefit anyone who wants his or her fics read, but is unable to attend.

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Will we be submitting the storys to be read at the same table that we will submit our fanfics to be judged? And should we submit two copies if we are entering our piece and having it read? Thanks.

both of those are great suggestions. certainly, if you are able to submit 2 copies, that would be far preferable than us having to try to find a place to get one copied, or risk the piece only reaching one of its intended destinations. and yes, where ever we are privileged to place the beta station, folks will be able to (a) meet others who are interested in reading, writing, and/or beta'ing (proofreading and editing) fanfic; (b) submit fics for the contest; (c) submit fics for others to read aloud for them; (d) find out where and when the workshop will be held (in case for any reason it has changed from when the schedule was printed, or in case for any reason programming info in general is absent from the program).

Hi, Rem Saverem! Thank you so much for all your help! I think you are most likely the friendliest person I have met going to Kumoricon! Only five weeks away?! Waa!! I need to get to work on my costumes for cosplaying! (remember the shyness curse? I wont actually be doing the on-stage acting thing, but the hall contest, and my two younger sibs will be wearing outfits that I helped them make and our charactors will match each day from their show and/or game) Anyways, thank you again and I can't wait to meet you either!

i had this great costume idea in mind but haven't been able to get together with the person i was going to have help me with it......we'll see

meantime

michael: i have not yet been able to read your fic. the reason is simple. i have no computer set up of my own, and at the place where i volunteer, i am not allowed to open and download attachments due to bad past experiences the agency had with viruses. therefore i would have to pay to go to kinko's and print it, (out of my own pocket) and i haven't had the time and money to do so yet. however, i promise that i shall. unless of course some kind and generous soul decides to let me use their comp and printer for free! or if you wanted to snail mail me a hard copy, i would give you my snail mail addy.

meantime, you can select in what category or categories your fic would be reviewed, or after i've gazed at it i'll let you know what i think.

amy, who was to be the other judge in the contest, emailed this week and let me know she will be unable to attend. so while she will aid in judging fics, such as yours, which arrive before the con, i'm going to be asking others in the kumoricon_fanfiction yahoo group whom among them might be willing to judge. given that that group consists largely of last year's contestants, and that contestants probably shouldn't also be judges, i might not be able to cull another judge from that list.......

anyone out there reading this forum interested in co-judging this year's fic contest? i promise it will be entertaining

Although i e-m,ailed my fic to Ellen, she had trouble getting it accessed and printed out. I'm trying to mail it to her, but I don;t have a complete address, incluidng name, and I don't know if it'll arrive in time to get jduged properly (it;'s a pretty big manuscript).

I'm also thinkong of withdrawing my entry -- my self-confidence is at a low ebb right now and crawling under a rock and hidoing there forever is srarting to look pretty darn good.

Oh, meh...don't worry about it! Just do your best and get your work out there--if worst comes to worst, you'll still get great critique from the incomparable Rem Sevarem...

I'm still squirreling my way through several possible entries, but I think I'll have something done in time. Are any of the judges familiar with Naruto? I don't want another situation like "Peace of Mind" last Sakuracon, where nobody knew what the one-shot was about because it was so tied up in its own fandom (Kingdom Hearts).

Oh, and come to think of it...Rem, do you know the folks who did the judging for the Sakuracon 2004 contest? Because they didn't have the fics available to read this year, and I'd really like to see the critique they gave my entries. Thankee!

michael: please o please stay in the running. so much effort clearly went into your work (based on volume alone), that it merits dedicated attention.

the ideas behind the beta station (a drop-in area for connecting past, present and future fanfic authors and past, present and future fanfic beta readers) include to help folks come out from under rocks and feel confident, and have an audience and find a voice....

please note: with amy no longer able to attend the con, due to school, presently i am the only judge. if there is anyone on this list, the kumoricon_fanfic yahoo group, the tunac boards, or any other source, who would like to volunteer to co-judge, just pm me or post here

When is the deadline? I still haven't figured out what fics to submit.

blackjack, dear! good to hear from you, as always.

i'm hoping you, filkaeris, and hayley from the yahoo group, have a chance, soon, to prep for the workshop. feel free to come to me with anything! but remember you are empowered to plot your own course

the deadline for submissions is 2 hours after the end of the fanfic workshop, which will probably be early sunday after noon.

filkaeris, i am unfamiliar with naruto; however, one of my favorite aspects of judging the con, last year, was running out and finding manga and/or episodes and/or films of the subject fics featured in the submissions and submerging myself in them as prep work, and/or, having their devotees contextualize their pieces by composing an overview of the pertinent canon.

Right-o, then. ^_^ If I can addict you to Naruto with my fanfiction, my work shall be done there. Excellent series, and unexpectedly deep for a show about preteen ninjas.

What all do you have me signed up for already, Rem? So far, there's a fanfiction panel I'm on the "council of elders" for, right? Is the filking thing part of that, or a separate panel? And how about the Anime Cafe/Bedtime Stories? (I would like to be a big part of that if it happens, since it was my baby brainchild and all. ^_^)

...see, once I get a clear list of what I'm doing so far, I'll be able to tell you if I'll have time to cojudge. If you want me, that is.

Right-o, then. ^_^ If I can addict you to Naruto with my fanfiction, my work shall be done there. Excellent series, and unexpectedly deep for a show about preteen ninjas.

What all do you have me signed up for already, Rem? So far, there's a fanfiction panel I'm on the "council of elders" for, right? Is the filking thing part of that, or a separate panel? And how about the Anime Cafe/Bedtime Stories? (I would like to be a big part of that if it happens, since it was my baby brainchild and all. ^_^)

...see, once I get a clear list of what I'm doing so far, I'll be able to tell you if I'll have time to cojudge. If you want me, that is.

hello, dear. i love the way you think!

as i envision it:

(a) on saturday, whomever is there will set up the beta station, and we will either pool our talent and/or rotate shifts, offering ad hoc, on the spot beta reading, collecting submissions for the contest, soliciting and registering authors and pinch-hit readers for the cafe and/or bedtime story audiences, and promoting the workshop. time and location to be set by programming staff; probably late afternoon/early evening, a table in a hallway or a small meeting room.

(b)on sunday, you (filkaeris), blackjack gabbiani, and hayley will host a workshop. this will likely be late morning / early afternoon, but time and place will be set by programming/scheduling staff.

the 3 of you may invite anyone to speak on the panel whom you wish, so long as all 3 of you consent to the addition.

i am available to moderate this panel; however, i have no attachment to being its moderator, if someone else desires this role.

i would not call the panel a "council of elders," given that one of our panelists represents the teen/youth fanfic community.

(c) 2 hours after the culmination of the workshop will serve as the deadline for submissions for the fanfic contest.

(d) any piece submitted prior to the con will receive, no later than the end of the con, a line-by-line critique by me, and any feedback any other judge wishes to provide.

(e) pieces submitted during the con will be reviewed by me and any other judge(s), sunday night.

(f) pieces authored by a judge will not be eligible to win a prize in the contest, but may be submitted for review and/or to be read aloud at the cafe and/ or bedtime stories session.

(g) pieces beta read by a judge for a purpose other than our contest (such as for a high school writing class), will not be eligible for review by that judge, but may be reviewed by any other judge(s), read aloud, etc.

And bedtime stories will be Sunday evening? Maybe we could do open-entry Bedtime Stories for four hours or so on Sunday evening, set with two hours on each side of curfew to allow for more adult fiction later into the night...and then have a brief Cafe session on Monday to showcase the contest winners? (See my various ideas for this event/these events in the Fanfic section of the board.)

The "council of elders" was a joke, since we're supposed to be dispensing wisdom, yet not one of us is past our early twenties. ;p

Anyway, that doesn't seem like too heavy of a load. I think I can fit in some cojudging, though moving back to college will be keeping me a bit busy. How many entries are you expecting for the contest, and would I have to read and rate them all?

we should decide by the end of this week whether we want to go for the fanfic cafe idea, the fanfic bedtime stories idea (or ideas--if we have 2--one all ages and one adult), neither, or both. and we should decide when within the weekend we would host such.

i am enamored of both concepts and will aid in either. however, if you were to nurse your brainchild, filkaeris, that would be fantastic, as i'm in the process of facilitating the genesis of a pirate role play event as well and lack time.

would you consider being the coordinator of that portion of our programming? instead of being a judge? that would still leave you eligible to be in the contest, which would be fun

i believe the filking is being combined with radien's karaoke contest. please check in with him about that.

whomever signs on as a judge would have to have some free time sunday night of the con.

i'm sure you'll be a pro. besides, you've been to (and won at!) sakuracon a few times, and i haven't. whereas last year, when i was one of 3 panelists and one of 2 judges, i had never even been to a con.

i believe you need to contact procyon (duncan) regarding room space and scheduling.